Chapter 289: Preparation Complete (3)
“Have you arrived?”
Murong Jun’s eyebrows twitched.
Zhuge Wen-hu continued speaking with a calm face.
“I had something to tell you separately, so I unavoidably asked you to come all the way here. Please understand.”
“So, what is the matter?”
It seemed his feelings from the previous incident hadn’t been resolved yet.
He was showing a more honest appearance than expected. Since they had already openly talked about how they viewed each other, there was no need to hide his uncomfortable feelings.
Zhuge Wen-hu pointed to a door on one side.
“I wanted to make a request of the Murong Clan Head.”
“A request?”
Murong Jun’s eyes sparkled.
He expanded his sense of Qi.
‘…….’
The slowly rising corners of his mouth.
“Goodness.”
Murong Jun shook his head.
“You seem to have overdone it quite a bit, uncharacteristic of a Strategist.”
Zhuge Wen-hu smiled bitterly.
“Where would there be overdoing or not overdoing things when it comes to the work of the Murim Alliance?”
“That’s a pleasant thing to hear. But you must know, right? If this matter reaches the other Honored Guests, you will receive quite a fierce reprimand.”
“One person already knows.”
“One person?”
“That is right.”
Murong Jun’s expression became strange.
“Don’t tell me it’s the Yeon Clan Head? That person, no matter how much he trusts the Strategist, is someone who would say no to what is wrong. If he knew about this matter, he would have informed the Honored Guests right away?”
“I know that as well. That is why I didn’t tell the Yeon Clan Head.”
“Hoho, people whose hands and feet match so well would be rare. Then who did you tell?”
“Would you like to guess?”
Zhuge Wen-hu maintained a calm expression to the end.
Murong Jun, who was staring blankly at his expression, smacked his lips.
“Don’t tell me, Master Kong-kong?”
“That is right.”
“You are incredibly bold.”
“It is already spilt water. If confusion is to be cast right away, I have no choice but to tell the one with the strongest influence among the Honored Guests to try and block the aftermath.”
Indeed, he is not an easy person to deal with.
It was amazing, and at the same time bitter, because he knew that conduct was a judgment made not for himself but for everyone.
‘If he was someone who knew how to kneel for himself, I could have made that good head of his mine a long time ago.’
Unfortunately, even when using such sudden and radical methods, Zhuge Wen-hu was working for the Murim Alliance.
It wasn’t bad. No, a Strategist should naturally be like that.
It was just a pity.
If Zhuge Wen-hu had been active under his command, there wouldn’t have been a need to stay quiet like this.
‘It can’t be helped.’
Those who bark for themselves are easy to handle. However, those who bow their heads for others are bound to cause problems someday.
Zhuge Wen-hu was thoroughly the latter type of person.
“Right, either way, you avoided the worst.”
Murong Jun shrugged his shoulders.
“So, what do you want this person to do when going inside there?”
“I got almost everything out of them, but they didn’t tell me a few of the most important pieces of information.”
“That is an interesting thing to say. It seems the one who went so far as to do this rough work bestowed useless warmth.”
“Even so, I couldn’t just torture them.”
“You should if it’s necessary.”
“There is no need. That is why I called the Clan Head.”
“What are you saying?”
“Aren’t you skilled in this area? The method of threatening and intimidating the opponent to find out what you want.”
It was quite a sharp attack. Murong Jun chuckled.
“You want me to do the rest?”
“Since you are the one who gave a great teaching to a lacking Strategist, I believe something will be different.”
“It seems you intend to put ink on my hands as well. Are you saying you want to get some insurance?”
“Please listen without misunderstanding. The Murong Clan Head has no value as insurance.”
Murong Jun smacked his lips.
“That is quite a pride-wounding thing to say.”
“So what will you do? Will you go in? Or do you want our side to handle it, even if it takes some time?”
Murong Jun, who was staring blankly at Zhuge Wen-hu, soon formed a bloody smile.
“Since there is an expert, there is no need for the Strategist to suffer.”
Zhuge Wen-hu smiled back.
“I will give you fifteen minutes.”
Clatter!
The door opened.
In Murong Jun’s eyes as he entered the opened door, several physicians tied tightly to chairs could be seen.
And among them was Ha Gok.
“Hoh.”
Murong Jun smiled.
“I didn’t know we would meet again like this, Physician Ha.”
Ha Gok shouted.
“Murong Clan Head?! What are you doing! Randomly taking away innocent physicians!”
“Innocent… Well, wouldn’t that depend on the investigation?”
“An investigation? Just what authority does the Murim Alliance have…!”
Bang!
Murong Jun roughly closed the door.
Ha Gok, startled, shut his mouth.
“We have the right.”
Bzzzt. Bzzzzzt.
A deep blue lightning light connected the spaces between Murong Jun’s fingers like a net.
Murong Jun’s face turned expressionless.
“The right not to be toyed with by you ridiculous physicians. And also the right to stomp ants like you to death.”
Ha Gok’s face was dyed with fear.
Murong Jun smiled whitely and grabbed his neck with a hand full of lightning light.
“Do you have that many secrets?”
Crackle!
* * *
Spurt!
Fresh blood poured out from the severed wrist.
Swish.
Yeon Ji-pyeong, who swept away the enemies flocking to Yeon Ho-jeong with his amazing sword technique and movement that had reached a divine skill, landed on the ground with a refreshing motion.
“Pyeong-ah! You?”
Yeon Ji-pyeong smiled. Perhaps because of the moonlight, his face looked exceptionally pale, but despite that, his features that had become much more mature than before gave Yeon Ho-jeong a huge surprise.
That wasn’t all.
Muk Bi also immediately recognized that the young man was Yeon Ji-pyeong.
“Pyeong-ah!”
In that moment, Yeon Ho-jeong swung the Crazy Dragon Axe.
Thwack!
An attacker’s torso was split in half by a ruthless strike. It was an assassin who had been secretly aiming for Yeon Ji-pyeong.
Yeon Ho-jeong shouted.
“Greetings for later! First, we deal with all these bastards!”
“Yes, brother!”
It was an extremely urgent moment, but Yeon Ho-jeong, who heard Yeon Ji-pyeong’s voice, couldn’t help but smile involuntarily.
‘He’s all grown up.’
His appearance was one thing, but his voice was distinctly different from three years ago.
His voice, much lower and calmer than before, was enough to give trust just by listening to it. His unique youthful feeling still remained, but he felt that he had truly become a sturdy young man now.
And even his skills.
Pabababak!
It was a surprising moment.
Flying high into the sky right as he appeared and blowing away the wrists of the bandits was one thing, but even now, Yeon Ji-pyeong was executing killing moves without hesitation.
Thump! Slash! Thud-thud-thud!
Yeon Ji-pyeong’s sword technique was not flashy.
It wasn’t particularly disciplined either, nor did it show a natural connection flowing like water like Murong Yu’s sword technique.
Even so, it was surprisingly powerful. It wasn’t that his Sword Power itself was strong, but he was embodying a practical Sword Way that took the enemy’s life with minimal strength and movement.
‘He made up his mind.’
Yeon Ho-jeong didn’t know how harsh of a training Yeon Ji-pyeong went through for the past three years, or if he even experienced actual combat. However, he knew one thing.
Yeon Ji-pyeong’s innate nature had not changed. Whether he had experienced actual combat or not, his younger brother was definitely not skilled at killing enemies.
He felt that such a younger brother was clenching his teeth and killing the enemies.
It was because he had a person far more precious than his own innate nature and beliefs.
Because his older brother was there, Yeon Ji-pyeong did not hesitate to use killing moves.
Squeeze!
Yeon Ho-jeong, who gripped the Crazy Dragon Axe with both hands, swung his arms with a terrifying momentum.
Flash!
The upper and lower bodies of the enemies were split in half by the Crazy Dragon Axe that drew a half-moon.
Bang! Thwack! Crash!
Did he gain strength from his younger brother’s appearance? Or did he become more urgent?
Yeon Ho-jeong’s martial arts were producing a different kind of power than before. He wrapped the Flood Dragon Chain around his upper body and struck the enemies to death solely with the Crazy Dragon Axe, and it seemed as if even the river water of the Yangtze River would overturn at its speed and destructive power.
“Brother!”
Crack!
Yeon Ho-jeong, who blew away the enemy’s head with a sweeping kick without even looking behind, shouted.
“Don’t worry about me! You’ll get hit if you make a mistake!”
“Yes, yes!”
“Don’t try to check your surroundings with your eyes! Utilize all your five senses! If you use your five senses properly, you can read the flow of the air and even predict the enemy’s line of attack!”
“Yes!”
Even in the middle of a battle, Yeon Ji-pyeong accepted Yeon Ho-jeong’s teaching at once.
Flash!
The cold Sword-Limit Thought Qi on the ordinary longsword created extreme cutting power and overflowing Sword Power, fundamentally blocking the enemies’ entry.
It had transformed from a Sword Way of killing enemies to a Sword Way of defense that perfectly blocked the enemies’ attacks.
It was the result of sharpening his five senses to the extreme. The attacks of the enemies storming from all around were so numerous and exquisite that his body recognized that blocking the attacks came first rather than killing the enemies one by one.
And looking at that appearance of Yeon Ji-pyeong, Yeon Ho-jeong cheered in delight.
“That’s exactly it!”
Crash!
Yeon Ho-jeong, who flew high into the sky at once with Blood Wing Sweeping Heavens, swung the Crazy Dragon Axe towards the bandits trying to smash Yeon Ji-pyeong’s defensive line.
Booom!
With an explosive sound, over ten men in black clothes flew in all directions.
Yeon Ho-jeong shouted.
“Muk Bi!”
Thump! Thud-thud-thud! Thwack!
The men in black clothes who flew away without dying even from the shockwave created by the Crazy Dragon Axe, died with their heads pierced before they even crashed to the ground.
It was Muk Bi’s participation in the war. The enemy was extremely flustered as Yeon Ji-pyeong’s defense and Yeon Ho-jeong’s offense combined. Now, driving the enemies into a corner at once would be a much wiser tactic than conserving stamina.
The ability to read the timely moment to strike and pull back truly stood out. It was the moment proving that Muk Bi’s combat ability had finally reached the level of an expert.
Yeon Ho-jeong shouted again.
“Army Commander Murong! Take Gang-ryang and Gi Wu-hui and detour back! Ji-pyeong! Stick to the rear of the party and block all the enemies’ attacks! And Muk Bi!”
Paaaak!
Muk Bi, who narrowed the distance in an instant and stood behind Yeon Ho-jeong’s back, drew the bowstring of the Red Lotus Bow.
Yeon Ho-jeong asked without even looking back.
“Is your heart okay?”
“It’s palpitating! Why do things like this keep happening whenever I go around with Young Master Yeon!”
“Hey, you punk! Is this my fault! And we expected this much!”
“If you take on a mission like this in the future, do it alone!”
“You were the one who followed me, you bastard!”
Chiriring!
Yeon Ho-jeong, who unwound a part of the Flood Dragon Chain wrapped around his upper body and wrapped it around his left fist, powerfully extended his left fist.
Bang!
Yeon Ho-jeong’s fist covered with the Flood Dragon Chain like a gauntlet was no different from a murder weapon itself. The enemy hit by that fist bounced off, knocked down a dozen men in black clothes, and stopped.
Yeon Ho-jeong shouted.
“Since Ji-pyeong came, risk your life one more time!”
“I was going to do that anyway!”
He was trying to forcibly annihilate all the enemies because he lacked one expert, one hand, but since a reliable swordsman named Yeon Ji-pyeong had participated, it was reasonable to trust his ally, sweep away all the visible enemies first, and use the method of meeting up later.
Yeon Ho-jeong recalled Yeon Ji-pyeong.
That reliable gaze, the calmed sword technique, the heart that no longer wavered.
‘I can trust him. If it’s the current Ji-pyeong.’
Splash! Splash!
Muk Bi shouted.
“The enemies are running away into the river water!”
“They are trying to detour! That’s great! We catch them just like that!”
Yeon Ho-jeong’s Crazy Dragon Axe was swung like lightning, and Muk Bi’s Red Lotus Bow fired arrows randomly at a terrifying speed.
Pupupupupupupung!
The water surface of the Yangtze River soared as if it exploded.
The next morning.
The water color of the Yangtze River flowing to the east was casting its murkiest color so far this year.